Knitted shirt



(No Model.)

' R. W. SCOTT.

KNITTED SHIRT.

No. 404,229'. Patented May 28, 1889.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT IV. SCOTT, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

K NITTED SHIRT'.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 404,229, dated May 28, 1889.

Application filed .Tune ll, 1888. Serial No. 276,664. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be itknown that I, ROBERT WV. SCOTT, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Knitted Shirts, of which the following is a specification.

One object of my invention is to so make a knitted shirt that the body of the same will consist of one continuous piece, tubularin the lower portion, and having an upper portion with selvage-edged arm-holes, a further obj eet being to make a sleeved shirt without seams save where the sleeves are secured to the body.

Figure lin the accompanying drawings illustrates a shirt made in accordance with myinvention, the sleeves being detached from the body; and Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating the mode of joining the front and back Webs at the top of the shirt.

In carrying out my invention I use a machine of that class in which two parallel needle-beds placed close together are employed, and in starting to knit the shirt I carry a single thread across the machine from one end to the other, the thread being applied first to a needle of one bed and then to a needle of the other bed, so as to form connecting-threads a, and I then proceed to knit on each row of needles an independent web, b, using two threadguides, one for each row of needles, these guides traversing back and forth, so as to form a selvage at each edge of the web. Vhen these webs have been knitted to the desired extent, additional needles are successively thrown into action at the ends of each row, so as to gradually widen each web, as shown at CZ, this widening being continued until the fabrics are wide enough to form the body of the shirt. One of the thread-guides is then thrown out of action, and the other threadguide is operated, so that in moving in one direction it will deliver itsthread to the needles of the front row and in its return course to the needles of the back row, the result being the production of the tubular fabric, f, which is continued until the proper length of fabric for the body of the shirt has been completed. If a sleeveless shirt is required,it is now complete, the arm-holes being properly shaped and provided with selvaged edges. If a sleeved f shirt is' desired, however, the sleeves g are knitted tubular, andare preferably provided with ribbed cuffs h, and each tube when itapproaches the shoulder portion is gradually widened or increased in diameter, as shown at g', by bringing additional needles into operation, so that when the sleeve is completed the end course of stitches is of such diameter as to conform closely in dimensions to the selvage edges i e' of the upper portion, b b, of the body of the shirt.

Although I prefer to connect the upper edges of t-he independent webs forming the upper portion of the body of the shirt by applying a single thread to the needles of the two needle-beds before commencing the knitting of the webs, as above described, it will be evident that the webs may be started independently of each other on the two beds and the upper edges of the webs afterward connected together by the ordinary seaming-machine, and, if desired, the upper edge of the front web may be cut out, as indicated by the dotn ted line a', to form the neck, the cut edge being afterward bound or finished in any suitable manner; or the opening may be formed with selvaged edges by starting with a narrow web at each side and gradually widening these webs on their inner edges until they meet.

It will be observed that a shirt constructed in accordance with myinvention is practically seamless-that is to say, it has no seams formed by sewing together cut edges of the fabric; hence it is much preferable to a garment shaped by cutting andisewing in the ordinary way.

It will be evident that in carrying out my invention the knitting operations may be reversed, the shirt being started at the bottom and the sleeves at the inner ends, and the webs being narrowed where they would otherwise be widened, or widened where they would otherwise be narrowed.

Having thus described my invention, whatI claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,

l. A knitted shirt having aseamless tubular lower portion and an upper portion, comprising front and back webs connected at the top and'having opposite tapered or shaped selvage edges, all substantially as specified.

IOO

2. A knitted Shirt having abodywith tubw In testimonywhereof I have Signed myname 1m' Semnless lower portion and an upper porto this speeemzen in the pleseneeef two subtion, comprising freut and beek webs eeuseribl'xg;` witnesses. neeted at the top andlmvngeppesite selvagge 5 edges shaped es described, and sleeves een- ROBERT XV. SCOTT.

ssting of Seamless tubes widened at :md nem' the sherddet pel-Lien :md connected 1'0 the fitnessem selvagge edges of the webs formingthe upper EDWARD M. RILEY, pevten et' the body of the shix't, all substfm- HARRY SMITH. 

